Greek or to be precise
Hellenistic philosophy came
into the Muslim world by way of
Syriac.
At Haran, in northern Iraq, a philosophical school kept versions of the
Hellenistic philosophical heritage intact in either the original Greek or in
Syriac translations. In the time of the Abbasid rule, that fertile period, in
which the Greek heritage was being translated into Arabic. The Caliph at first
was interested to see what sciences there were there, then works on civil
administration, then to ethical works, if any then it was all works. So it was
no surprise that there was a vigorous effort to translate all the works (ca.
754-833).

[2] At first, some of the translations were
not from good original copies but as the demand for the philosophical
literature was up more and better copies were found. Interestingly however,
some important works never made it into Arabic for example the politics of
Aristotle (c.f. Aristu)
was never found. Also among the bad copies/translations was
Aristotle's poetics. To make matters even worst, some of Plotinus' Enneads
(available online c.f. Enneads)
would be translated under the title of the “Theology of Aristotle”, so the
Muslims had a skewed if not a contradictory view of Aristotle. Some writers
questioned its attribution to Aristotle but no one could research this further. One of those who strongly apposed the view that
the “Theology” was a work of Aristotle is Averroes (d. 1198).
As Greek was not one of the languages that many Arabic speaking Muslims
learned. The perceived superiority of the Arabic language deterred many from learning or
writing in any other language.

[3] The spread of Hellenistic philosophy in
the Muslim world would be first expounded on by the first Arabic philosopher
al-Kindi (ca.800-865). He wrote many works on Greek science and philosophy.
He laid the foundation for others to follow in studying philosophical works. His
main contribution was the firm conviction that Greek heritage contained
important truths that Muslims could not afford to overlook. As a mathematician
he realized the importance of Aristotelian Logic, However, al-Kindi found
Aristotelian metaphysics contradictory; that Aristotle did not offer valid
logical support to the issue of the eternity of the world.

[4] Al-Kindi
in his mathematical philosophy presented an argument that actual infinity is
self-canceling. Also in his philosophy of nature he showed that matter, motion,
and time as closely related concepts (this is an advanced worked comparing it
with the knowledge of the middle ages.) Since matter cannot be eternal, and
cannot generate its existence (c.f. essence and generation argument) then its
motion and time are not eternal too. Al-Kindi
was the first Muslim philosopher to note clearly that the metaphysics of the
Greek philosophers is first self contradictory, and second it contradict the
Islamic belief. He also gave a religious basis for studying these fields.

[5] Al-Kindi
would prove to be the most difficult Islamic thinker to study which explains the
dearth of works on him. This is due to a variety of reasons some of which is
that he was a scientist, philosopher of science, a rigorous mathematician and a
man of letters with a high command of Arabic. One who is not well versed in all
of these topics in addition to a solid grasp of scientific Arabic would not be
able to fully appreciate
al-Kindi nor his contributions.

[6] Then it would be up to al-Farabi
(870-950) [who served in the Hamdanid court in Aleppo, northern Syria.] that
would formulate philosophy in a manner that would be palatable to Muslim
tastes. His efforts would be aimed at expounding philosophy in Islamic terms. It is worthwhile to note that in his lifetime he
was not a noted figure in field.Actually, Avicenna is the one that popularized his writings. He became
known as the Second teacher (after Aristotle). He also laid an important
groundwork in every major field of philosophy and most importantly political
philosophy. He would be the credited with the popularizing neo-Platonism in the
Muslim world.

[7] Important to Islamic philosophers is the concept
of Prophethood, namely God selecting messengers and endowing them through
prophecy (communication from God, either directly or through Angels) with
enlightenment and truth. This was a concept that would have to be explained
philosophically. It would be al-Farabi who would formulate such a concept in
Hellenistic terms. To al-Farabi, he would equate two sources of knowledge
namely revelation and philosophy as the two roads to enlightenment and truth.

[8] Al-Farabi had accomplished much in all
the major fields of philosophy including metaphysics, logic, music theory,
ethics and politics. Not only did he make a brave attempt to reconcile
philosophy with Islamic doctrine, he also attempted to reconcile philosophy
with it self, namely a work on the philosophy of Plato and
Aristotle (available
online c.f. al-Farabi). He was
also an accomplished musician of great renown.

[9] Soon thereafter, a hodgepodge work called the epistles of the
brethren of purity “Rasil Ikhwan al-Safa”. (ca. 946-1055) This work is a
mix of philosophy (Pythagorean speculations), theology (Jewish, Christian,
Persian, Hindu, and Islamic elements), mysticism, math, music theory, and
astrology. Prof. Hitti, in his history of the Arabs says of the
group “...they evidently aimed to overthrow [Abbasid rule] by undermining the
popular intellectual system and religious beliefs.” p. 373. It is important to
note they were aligned with the Fatimid
rule.

[10] The third most important
figure in philosophy is Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980-1037) [He lived in Northern Iran/FSSR]. He wrote on a wide variety of sciences, medicine being
his most valuable contribution. He also wrote on all branches of philosophy. He
is also credited with popularizing philosophy for the elite. There are many
legends that surround not only his life but there are many books that are
attributed to him that he did not write according to scholarly accounts. Still
he wrote extensively on philosophy ranging from short works to encyclopedic
length works, namely his famed al-Shifa (lit. healing ) that runs in 12
volumes (2 volumes available online c.f. Avicenna). Outside of philosophy his is famous for his medical encyclopedia, al-qanun
fi-al-tibb (Canon of Medicine -available
online in original Arabic(1593 ed.), from which the English term 'canon' comes
from.

[11] Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) is an
important figure in the history of Islamic thought.He was a a
scholar of Islamic Jurisprudence and theologian by training who delved into philosophy
out of necessity.He was also a
gifted writer with keen knack for clarifying terse subjects. He claimed three
things with regard to philosophy in the Muslim world at his time. The first
claim is that some of the teachings of philosophy run against the teachings of
Islam to the point that they cannot be rationally reconciled. Second, these
teachings are also contradictory to the teachings of philosophy it self, hence
they are incoherent at best and otherwise destructive. These teachings run
counter to philosophy and its stated goals of being coherent, logical and
consistent. Thirdly, some of the teachings of philosophy are useful to Islam,
namely logic, math, astronomy, physics, etc.

[12] To prove his point al-Ghazali
did two things first of all he wrote a summary (titled Maqasid al-falasifah
(Aims of the philosophers) of philosophical teachings concentrating on
metaphysics and logic. This summary proved useful and with the missing
introduction and closing remarks would earn him the title of “the expositor of
Avicennain philosophy” in the west. His stated goal is that in order to be able
to refute philosophy one had to be competent in it. This he did, much to the
dismay of his compatriots who claimed that you have done the philosophers task
by simplifying their teachings for the layperson. Ibn Rushd would vent his
anger on him years later for doing this as well. How could he bring to the
masses the literature of the elite that has been hidden by complex terminology
and vague statements that only the ‘select’ were understand after undergoing
through ‘training’.

[13] The other work (titled Tahafut
al-falasifah (Incoherence/Destruction of philosophers- available online c.f.
al-Ghazali) was a refutation of
the metaphysical teachings of philosophy summarized in twenty points. Three of
these points not only lead to heresy but outright infidelism.This work was well accepted by the
scholars of his time who heralded it as a victory for Islamic teaching.
Philosophy was once and for all defeated in its own battlefield. It no longer
held that charm or air of mystery that Avicenna had sought so hard throughout
his life to veil it with. This fact should not be construed to denote the end of
philosophy in the Muslim world. This was hardly the case as it opened the door
for many theologians to study philosophy with relative ease. Actually the case
can be made that he popularized the works of Ibn Sina in religious circles which
continued to studied till the latter days of the Ottoman Empire.

Philosophy
in the Muslim West:

[14] The works of al-Ghazali would
have an interesting history in Andalusia. Part of the mystery is due in part to
the fame that al-Ghazali achieved. Some theological and
esoteric not to
mention heretical works be written by anonymous authors and attributed to al-Ghazali. Add to the fact that
al-Ghazali would change his mind on some
issues of legislation and theology. These two elements added together led to a misunderstanding
of al-Ghazali.

[15] A major figure in Andalusia
who contributed to the misunderstanding of al-Ghazali is a personal physician
of Almohad caliph Abu Ya’qub Yusuf (1163-1184).Ibn Tufyal (1106-1185) dappled in neo-Platonism and followed
the esoteric teachings of Avicenna in addition to his flourishing medical
career. He is the celebrated author of the fictional philosophical romance
entitled “Hayy bin Yaqthan” [Living son of Awake]. It is a philosophical
parable set on an island in the Indian Ocean (modern day Sri Lanka?) that tells
the story of Hayy a child who grows up on the Island without any human contact,
he is raised by a gazelle (fawn/deer). As Hayy grows up he discovers natural
religion. Later on when he grows up a sailor is shipwrecked on the Island who
teaches him human language and religion and much to surprise they find many
points of agreement.

[16] The point the author here is
trying to make is that religion can be arrived at naturally without the aid of
revelation. Interestingly this concept is not so foreign to Islam, which sees
itself as the “Natural religion”. Surprisingly, this neo-Platonist would be the mentor
of the most famous Arab Aristotelian, Ibn
Rushd.[Historical
Note: This last claim of Ibn Rushd's mentor is really open to question perhaps
it is the stuff of legend along with a similar historical claim that Ibn 'Arabi
learned philosophy from Ibn Rushd. Perhaps Ibn 'Arabi learned (if not emptied)
Ibn Rushd of Ibn Tufail's philosophical (read Sufi) thought.]

[17] Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) -known as Averroes
in the west and sometimes ‘the commentator’- would fare well in the west then
among his own people. The reason for this is the both see him as an expositor
of Aristotelian ideas. He is a strict follower of Aristotle to a fault. Ibn
Rushd would make a brave attempt to extract Aristotle’s ideas on politics from
Plato’s Republic. He would not only comment on all of the existing Aristotle’s
work but also would summarize them and write grand commentaries on them. He
would also write a point-by-point refutation of al-Ghazali’s criticism of
philosophy, the tahafut -the success
of of which is widely debated due to the fact that he only defended Aristotle's
doctrines.

[18] However, in his attempt to defend
philosophy he would only defend Aristotle’s ideas only. He believed that the
peak of philosophical teachings ended with the master, Aristotle. Many later
scholars would see this as an attempt to defend Aristotle and not a complete
refutation of al-Ghazali. The philosophical ideas that
al-Ghazali was
attacking were the ideas of Avicenna and al-Farabi some of which came from
Aristotle while the majority came from Plato and
Plotinus.

[19] To his credit, Ibn Rushd would have quite
an influence on the medieval philosophy of Europe through Latin translation of
his works. He would also cast doubt on the authenticity of the attribution of
the “theology of Aristotle” to Aristotle. The work, as mentioned above, was a
compilation of some of the chapters from Plotinus’ Enneads.

Philosophy
in the Muslim East a history
yet to be completed:

[20] The history of the philosophical debate
that was started by al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd would continue at the hands of
authors in the Islamic East in general and in the Ottoman lands after the
eclipse of the Muslim rule of Andalusia. In fact the famed sultan Mehmet II
(a.k.a. fatih [conqueror] r.(1451-1481) orders two of the empires’ scholars to
compile books to summarize the debate between al-Ghazali and
Muslim Philosophers. Both of
these works have been published one of which in a critical edition. (both of
which is
available online c.f. ipo) As indicated this part of
history needs is yet to be written, any takers?

Written
by Muhammad Hozien

Questions:

How did the translation of
Greek works into Arabic skew the Muslim interpretation of Hellenistic
Philosophy?